2007 Tour Narrative
Quick Summary: This year’s Pacific Northwest tour had great weather and fantastic scenery, and the birds were very cooperative as well. Highlights must include close but brief views of a surprised Black-backed Woodpecker, an extended study of a male Spruce Grouse, gorgeous alpine vistas and flower strewn meadows, obliging Clark’s Nutcrackers, the ethereal song of Eurasian Skylarks, singing Hermit Warblers near the northern edge of their range and a pelagic trip that held no fewer than 5 South Polar Skuas, 30 Black-footed Albatrosses and fantastic views of side-by-side Leach’s and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels. In all we managed to observe 230 species of birds and over 20 species of mammals all while enjoying some of the most attractive landscapes that North America has to offer. Who could ask for more?
In detail: This years Pacific Northwest trip was blessed with fantastic weather throughout the fortnight, an abundance of stupendous scenery, great food, and a wealth of birds and mammals. We started off in the dry sagebrush deserts of Eastern Washington, where Sage Thrashers, Sage Sparrows, Rock Wrens and the local Black-throated Sparrows were all found singing amid the sweeping rocky canyons and wide open sagebrush flats that characterize the Columbia River drainage. From here we headed north, threading our way past several large lakes with our first waterfowl, gulls, and throngs of swallows to find ourselves settled comfortably in the ponderosa pine clad southern Okanagan Valley of central Washington. Next came three days where we explored the U.S. and then Canadian sides of the lovely Okanogan Valley. Here we found huge basaltic cliffs with singing Chukar and Canyon Wrens, open Ponderosa forests where Lewis’s Woodpeckers and Mountain Bluebirds provided lengthy views and a seemingly endless length of forest roads up into the higher hills. The peaks around Oliver, our base in the B.C. Okanagan serve as an excellent illustration of the life-zone phenomenon. As we wound our way higher in the hills the Ponderosa Pines gave way to stands of spruce-fir and then Alpine Fir near the top. With each passing kilometer new species announced their presence as they called from along the roadside. In just a few short kilometers we went from singing Gray Flycatchers and California Quail to Gray Jays, Hammond’s and Olive-sided Flycatchers, Townsend’s Warblers, and Varied Thrush! On our first day of exploring these hills we were fortunate enough to choose a picnic lunch spot immediately adjacent to a tree that a Black-backed Woodpecker decided to sit on as it was moving through the woods. Staring at a Black-backed Woodpecker while trying to put down a bottle of water, find the binoculars, finish chewing my sandwich and stutter out the words “Black-backed!” was an experience to remember. A night excursion up the mountain produced good views of Common Poorwill and brief views of a calling Flammulated Owl.
Reluctantly leaving the town of Oliver, and its attendant fruit stands and wineries, behind we drove west into the Cascade Range where for the next two nights we would make our base at Manning Provincial Park. This gem of a park stretches for over 71000 hectares south to the U.S. border. It encompasses large tracts of high altitude coniferous forest where birds such as Sooty and Spruce Grouse, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Clark’s Nutcracker Boreal Chickadee and Pine Grosbeak can be found. The large lake near the lodge held breeding Barrow’s Goldeneye and our patience was well rewarded as a pair of Black Swifts coursed overhead. The views from the alpine Blackwell Meadows north of the lodge were breathtaking, as were the abundance and diversity of wildflowers, cooperative Hoary Marmots and almost overly aggressive territorial Fox Sparrows. An afternoon at leisure at the Manning Lodge involved siestas, strolls down one of the many nearby trails or just watching the antics of the nearly tame Columbian Ground Squirrels that breed on the lodges lawns.
From Manning we drove down to the metropolis of Vancouver. This sprawling but still picturesque city of nearly 1.5 million people lies on the Fraser River Delta, an area of global importance for migrant shorebirds and wintering waterfowl, gulls and raptors. We spent the morning walking around the trails of the Cypress Bowl ski area, a future site for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Here we had our first views of Vaux’s Swifts, were teased by a few uncooperative Varied Thrushes and thoroughly enjoyed repeated views of the stunning Red-breasted Sapsucker. We then made our way through Stanley Park and downtown Vancouver for a quick visit of the Iona Sewage Lagoon where a few species of southbound shorebirds had already put in an appearance. Close studies of side-by-side Lesser and Greater Yellowlegs were quite instructive. The afternoon was spent at the lovely Campbell Valley Regional Park, where Pacific-slope Flycatchers, Hutton’s Vireos, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Purple Finches and Western Tanagers vied for our attentions.
We took the early ferry over to Vancouver Island the next morning and after a sumptuous breakfast headed to the fallow fields near the airport where we were treated to the display and glorious flight song of several introduced but well established Eurasian Skylarks that call the Saanich Peninsula home. For the rest of the day we toured the Victoria waterfront and campus of the University enjoying our first Harlequin Ducks, Rhinoceros Auklets, Pigeon Guillemots, and great views of Pileated Woodpecker, Winter and Bewick’s Wrens, Brown Creeper and Bushtit. A brief owling trip resulted in very close views of two extremely curious and vocal Barred Owls, a relatively recent colonizer of the west coast of British Columbia. On our full day in Victoria we toured the magnificent forests of Goldstream Provicial Park, where American Dipper put on quite a show, and a nest box full of hungry Violet-green Swallows provided some excitement as we watched the young over a closed circuit TV in the nature center. Afterwards we visited the Esquimalt Lagoon, where an over summering Trumpeter Swan was a surprise guest amidst the herd of resident Mute Swans. The afternoon was at leisure and this year the participants wandered around downtown Victoria and the Royal B.C. Museum, sampling excellent chocolates, and just taking in the sights of this very colonial city.
All too soon we had to leave for the Olympic Peninsula, but as soon as we started up the winding road to Hurricane Ridge the breathtaking views captivated us. A hike along a ridge trail proved excellent for wildflowers and alpine butterflies. That afternoon we spent some time looking for shorebirds along the coast and checking on a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher that unfortunately had departed the previous day. Dinner at the locally famous 3 Crabs Restaurant was memorable for the chowder, the huge slices of pie and the charming and detailed conversations of the other customers… On the final full day of the regular tour we spent a great late morning and early afternoon exploring Whidbey Island, the largest of the San Juans. Here we found large numbers of Western and Least Sandpipers as well as both species of Dowitchers and a few interesting waterbirds such as Red-throated Loon, Horned Grebe and White-winged Scoter.
All of this years participants elected to take the Westport extension, so early the next morning we packed up the van and started South. A brief stop in a neighborhood near Olympia gave us some very tasty raspberries and sweet peas and a few Western Scrub Jays. The high tide on the coast was forecast for very early in the morning so we took our time going to Gray’s Harbor and explored some of the meandering logging roads in the Capital State Forest just west of Olympia. Here we were treated to several singing Hermit Warblers, near the northern edge of their range, and a large family party of Gray Jays. Eventually reaching the coast our shorebird list increased slightly with the addition of a few Marbled Godwits, Whimbrel, a single Willet and Semipalmated Plovers. The onset of shorebird migration seemed to be a bit lit this year, with very few individuals located. An early evening was called for as the next day saw us at the boat dock shortly after 5am ready for a 5:30 departure. The passage out was rougher than normal, but after repeated views of Black-footed Albatross, Pink-footed and Sooty Shearwaters, lengthy side-by-side studies of Fork-tailed and Leach’s Storm-Petrels, 5 South Polar Skua, 2 Cassin’s Auklets and a stunning Tufted Puffin the early rough seas were soon forgotten. A quick drive down the beach after the boat trip produced close views of a single black Brant and a Snowy Plover, before we headed back to Seattle to close the trip with dinner at a truly funky little restaurant. In all we found 230 species of birds, as well as 21 species of mammals and 18 species of butterflies.
Gavin Bieber
Updated: August 2007